A total of 21GW of data centre capacity across EMEA was operational, under construction, or in planning stages at the end of 2024 with operators increasingly looking beyond traditional powerhouse markets to meet demand.
Cushman & Wakefield's EMEA Data Centre Update for H2 2024 examines the current state of the Data Centre market, stating that operational capacity grew 9% year-on-year and the pipeline (under construction and in planning stages) by 16% over the same period. It tracks the top 32 data centre markets across EMEA, comparing their current maturity and growth potential over the next decade.
In Lisbon, the figures demonstrate that the data centre market in terms of live capacity is still at an early stage. However, the pipeline capacity is expanding rapidly. While live capacity currently stands at 15MW, AtlasEdge (9.3MW) and Merlin Properties (180MW) have data centres under construction. Also, in the ‘early stage’ (excluded from our analysis), the Start Campus in Sines has 1.2 GW. Operators like Altice Portugal, Equinix and NOS Sistemas lead.
Portugal has land in strategic industrial areas, which are ideal for new data centre developments, and a strong renewable energy production capacity. However, it should be noted that not all sites have dark fibre trunk coverage, which means that some locations are not yet fully prepared for these digital “factories” of the future.
